Legris Links Up With Team West-Tec for F3 Graduation

Team West-Tec are very happy to announce the signing of Jonathan Legris as part of our 4 car attack on the 2008 Spanish F3 Championships.

The Formula BMW UK racewinner, who recently finished in an excellent fifth place on the road at the BMW World Finals, will join Francisco Villar in racing a Copa de Espana Class B Dallara, as used to win that class by the team in 2007.

Jonathan, from Bournemouth, is the second British driver to be confirmed within the team alongside Alex Waters, who will drive in Class A alongside the Norwegian rising star, Christian Ebbesvik.

Team Principal, Gavin Wills: "Jonathan tested for us before Christmas in Valencia. Even allowing for the fact that he did know the track from his BMW exploits, he was absolutely stunning. He was easily the quickest Class B driver testing all week, and was a superb fourth overall on the one day he drove."

Jonathan Legris: "This will be all new for me, but the team are well prepared and extremely focused on the job in hand. I felt I fitted in very well with both the car and the team so I hope I can go out and win races. I am also looking forward to learning some fantastic tracks with the team, which will stand me in good stead for the future."

Team Principal, John Miller: "When Jonathan first drove the car we didn’t really know what to expect. To say the team was blown away by his performance is an understatement. I hope he keeps it up! Almost every day the mechanics were asking if we’ve signed him up, so maybe they’ll leave me alone now for a bit… Teaming Jonathan up with Francisco should be a good combination. Jonathan has a lot of experience and Francisco knows the tracks, so they should be able to work well together. They are both great young guys who are very quick, so I am sure we will see some fireworks too!"

Francisco Villar joins Team West-Tec for 2008

Team West-Tec are pleased to reveal the signing of Francisco Villar as part of our four car campaign in the 2008 Spanish Class A and B, F3 Championships. Francisco will be part of a big West-Tec squad, with at least two cars in each class.

Francisco raced very successfully in the Master Formula Junior Championship in 2007, scoring four wins, before moving up and trying his hand at some late season Formula 3 races.

The young Portuguese ace will be driving one of the team’s two Copa de Espana Class B Dallaras. The same two cars run by the team when wining the 2007 Championship on their very first showing in Spain.

For 2008, the Spanish F3 Championship is visiting fresh tracks such as Spa-Francorchamps and the new harbour-side Valencia F1 street track, tracks that Francisco is looking forward to racing at.

Team Principal, John Miller: "Francisco was very impressive in the Formula Master Junior last year, and that series has an excellent history of producing very good drivers. Last year, we ran the quickest Class B cars, and I am sure that Francisco will be able to live up to that star billing in 2008!"

Francisco Villar: "We have been talking to Team West-Tec since last summer and I am really pleased to have finally signed to join such a professional team. They were very impressive last year in Spanish F3, and I am looking forward to developing my career with them."

Team Principal, Gavin Wills: "Francisco came highly recommended and we have been impressed by what we have seen so far. I am looking forward to watching him develop within the team, in order to help bring his undoubted talents to the fore consistently. I am sure he is going to do well in 2008 in Class B, and will then hopefully be ready to use that experience to challenge for the outright title in 2009."

Waters joins West-Tec for 2008 Spanish campaign

Team West-Tec are delighted to announce that Bath-based Alex Waters (20) has signed to join our Spanish F3 Championship attack for 2008.

After having to end his 2007 race season early due to illness, Alex is very keen to get back to racing and enjoyed a recent test at Valencia where he impressed the team.

Alex first tested with West-Tec as long ago as late 2006, but has since been racing in British F3 Class B. He now feels he is now ready to move up to the full Championship Class A.

Having raced under the CLIC Sargent banner in 2007, Alex’s innovative presentation and hard work raised significant sponsorship as well as equally significant funds for the cancer charity – something Alex plans to enhance in 2008.

Alex Waters: “I tested just before Christmas at Valencia and we were at the top of the times, which shows there is potential there for winning. The prizes on offer are huge with the series having a great pedigree for drivers graduating to higher levels. The team have guaranteed me a GP2 test if everything goes to plan which is incredibly exciting. My ultimate goal is to reach Formula 1 to spread the word about cancer as people do not understand enough about it and how it can be prevented or cured.”

Team Principal, Gavin Wills: “Alex has tested for us twice and has impressed the team on both occasions. He drove at Valencia in December in appalling conditions and was bang on the pace despite not knowing the track or the car, and not having driven for some months.

Alex is very focused and determined and I have no doubt he’s going to be challenging at the front in 2008 as we race at some of the world’s most challenging tracks.”

Team Principal, John Miller: “Alex is an extremely impressive young man and, having seen the work he has put into his career so far, I am sure he has a bright future ahead of him.

We are really looking forward to working with him as we know he will be a force to be reckoned with on track as well as being an impeccable professional off-track.

What he achieved commercially at Formula 3 level in 2007 was little short of stunning and I am really looking forward to helping him achieve evenmore in 2008, as well as hopefully introducing him to GP2.”

In 2008, Spanish Formula 3 will visit Spa and Magny Cours, and is also scheduled to support Formula 1 at the European Grand Prix at the stunning new Valencia street circuit in August, as well as racing at all the usual top-level Spanish circuits. With pre-season testing kicking off in March as the drivers start to prepare for the first race in Madrid in April, an exciting season is in prospect. Big grids are expected in 2008 - attracted by the great tracks, value for money racing and the Championship’s enviable record of graduating drivers to GP2 and World Series by Renault.

SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA

Team West-Tec are pleased to annouce their participation in the newly formed Superleague formula.

Launching in 2008, Superleague Formula (SF) will be a brand new, global Championship that connects two of the most popular sports in the world: football and motor racing. At their heart, both sports offer fans action and drama; that is their engine, their attraction. By combining the two, Superleague hopes to create a unique blend of entertainment, passion, fair play and exhilaration – the beautiful race.

Taking motor sport back to its roots, all cars and engines will be identical, thereby putting an emphasis on the driver's skills and abilities. Superleague Formula will feature 20 cars competeing against one another, with each one carrying the colours and livery of major football clubs from Europe and around the world.

Media Release : 12 January 2007 PORTUGUESE MOTORSPORT STARS KEEN TO SEE FC PORTO SCORE FC Porto fans celebrated the unveiling of their Superleague Formula car at Estádio do Dragão on Saturday with a stunning 4-0 victory over SC Braga. The blue and white 750 horsepower V12-powered machine was revealed at the "Dragon's den" by a group of young FC Porto junior players. Superleague Formula President and CEO Alex Andreu was also presented with an FC Porto shirt by club President Pinto da Costa. While the fans had their turn tonight, a couple of well know FC Porto supporters had a sneak preview of the car at yesterday's media launch. Ex-Formula 1 driver and SEAT World Touring Car Championship star, Tiago Monteiro and 2007 World Series by Renault championship winner Alvaro Parente took the opportunity to try the car on for size. They were joined by fellow Portuguese racers including Pedro Matos Chaves, Ni Amorim, Tiago Petiz, Armindo Araújo, Miguel Ramalho and Rui Martins. A Formula One driver in 2005 and 06, Monteiro is an avid FC Porto supporter and believes the Superleague Formula championship is a great idea – particularly the plan of having the second race as a reverse grid event. "I think it’s a great concept. To join the fans and strength of football with motorsport is a project that can only have success because there are so many fans in those two sports. Bring them together and it will be very popular," Monteiro said. I'm a professional driver and all these championships are very interesting and it is a matter of looking closely at it. I have a contract for 2008 with SEAT in the World Touring Car Championship but you never know, maybe it is possible to do something. "For the reverse grid concept, as a driver it is always frustrating because you have done all the hard work and won the first race and then have to start from the back. It is certainly hard, but I think it is good for the show and at the end of the day you have to make the fans happy – that's what they want to see, lots of passing." Parente won the 2005 British Formula 3 Championship and backed up that title winning success by earning himself a Renault Formula 1 test by claiming the 2007 World Series by Renault Championship. "The concept is very good. To mix football - which is the biggest sport - with car racing is really incredible," Parente said. "Right now I am concentrating very heavily on advancing my career and getting to Formula 1 and I have a test coming up very soon which is my main priority However, the car certainly looks very interesting and who knows, if the dates don't clash, you never know. I am used to seeing FC Porto winning on the football pitch and if we can see the same in Superleague Formula, that would be brilliant." While Monteiro and Parente are already keen FC Porto supporters, Team West-Tec's Gavin Wills and John Miller are now also Dragons fans after being selected as the race team for FC Porto. The British duo attended tonight's clash with SC Braga in the President's box and are now fully aware of the expectations of the fans and the responsibility they have taken on. Team West-Tec have an outstanding championship pedigree, winning the British Formula Ford championship, the Formula Ford Festival, the British Formula Renault Championship, twice a championship winner of the UK "Days of Thunder" Stock Car Series, and this year claiming the Spanish Formula 3 Cup title. "What we find most attractive about Superleague Formula is the opportunity to bring the racing to an entirely new audience," Wills said. "Football has one of the biggest spectator bases in the world and this is a excellent opportunity to introduce motorsport to new fans and new sponsors - its great for the sport. "We are very excited for Team West-Tec to be involved in Superleague Formula. We are clearly aware of the huge fan base of FC Porto and that brings an added level of responsibility for us to deliver to those loyal supporters.We have been fortunate to have great success and won championships in every class we have been involved with but this is a new challenge and we certainly are not underestimating what is going to be involved." FC Porto will be part of a 20 strong grid when the championship kicks off at Donington Park in the UK on August 30/31 this year. So far, they will be joined by AC Milan, Olympiacos, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, Flamengo, FC Basel and Galatasaray SK. An additional club announcement is expected this week with the grid now starting to fill fast. At each of the six championship rounds, teams will compete for prize pool of 1 million euro at each race meeting. The Elan Motorsport Technologies, Panoz-built Superleague Formula car is now nearing completion and is expected to hit the track in early March. The Menard Competition Technologies V12 engine will run on the dyno for the first time this month.

Ebbesvik re-signs for 2008 Spanish F3 attack

Team West-Tec are delighted to announce that Christian Ebbesvik has signed with the team to compete in Spanish F3 in 2008. The team is stepping up to Class A and looks set to run two cars in that class.

Christian will be looking to add to his 2007 Class B honours by picking up the main Spanish F3 title, but it certainly won't be easy with a number of top youngsters looking to pick up their share of Trophies and points. The team now moves onto Valencia for five days of testing just before Christmas where 2007 drivers, Christian and Sean Petterson will be joined by double 2007 British Club F3 race-winner, and ex-Formula BMW racer, Lars Viljoen who is set to test one of the Class B cars at Valencia, alongside others yet to be confirmed.

More announcements can be expected in due course, especially with potentially one more A Class seat left to fill, as well as the B Class cars which the team are determined to use to defend their hard-won title win.

Christian Ebbesvik: "I am really excited to be able to return to Spain. Winning in 2007 has helped greatly with sponsors in Norway and now we have the equipment to be able to challenge outright. I know the team well now, of course, and I know they are more than capable of doing the business."

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: "We are delighted to have re-signed Christian. He will certainly be gunning to win the outright title as he has his sights set on a GP2 graduation for 2009, after his successful testing with Racing Engineering with whom he should be testing for again in 2008."

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: "I am looking forward to seeing the team mount credible challenges for overall honours."

Wills: "Lars tested with us last year and we made no secret of our desire to sign him if he could secure a sensible budget. Having won the Class B Championship this year, and with two superb cars at our disposal, we are committed to trying to win it again. Also having seen what it has done for Christian, we know that it presents an excellent opportunity for the right drivers who only have a limited budget."

Ebbesvik takes P4 in the Race Against Cancer final

Sunday morning at Rye House started out rather chilly and somewhat damp. But spirits were soon lifted when some of the top names in UK and European motorsport took to the track.

Although the Karting event was for charity, with so much talent on show it was inevitable that those with the most competative temperament would find their way to the front.

Early testing and qualifying took place in wet conditions, with many of the competitors sliding off track, but to be fair, they were all on slicks when it was obvious that wets were the way to go.

The main event took place over 2 heats followed by the final. Our own Chistian Ebbesvik managed a respectable 4th place in qualifying, finishing ahead of top names such as Sebastian Hoenthal and Alain Menu. Ebbesvik drove well in heat 1, but eventually finished 7th behind Racing Engineer's winning driver Javier Villa.

Heat 2 was another well contested affair with Christian sliding back from his 7th position start to finish 10th, this time with Menu just managing to keep Sam Bird behind with a gap of 0.03 seconds to take the win.

The Final provided some fantastic kart racing, but a couple of start attempts were needed as the front row competitors were a little too eager to get things going. However, once under way an early shunt knocked a few of the quicker drivers out of their stride allowing the top 3 to get away. Ebbesvik pushed hard gaining back 4th place (his start position) after he dropped down the field, but could not close the gap to R. Christodoulou. The race was eventually won by Spains Javier Villa, Sam Bird in second, Christodoulou in P3 and Ebbesvik in 4th.

Wes-Tec's Gavin Wills and John Miller also managed some laps in the motorsport icons race. This was a 2 driver team race, with Miller and Wills pairing up with other icons or media representatives. Wills and Miller also managed good results, with Gavin just off of the podium in 4th and John (Partnered with Prodrive's David Lapworth) in 6th.

Overall the event was well supported with names such as Mike Gascoyne (Spyker F1), Penny Mallory (Rallying) and John Surtees (Ex F1 and Grand Prix Motorcycle World Champion) all doing their bit.

Check out the main photographs of the event at:

www.theraceagainstcancer.co.uk

Team West-Tec out in force at The Race Against Cancer

Following his clinching of the Spanish F3 Cup title, Christian Ebbesvik has been announced as one of the international star feature drivers at The Race Against Cancer - the largest charity karting event of the decade, to be held at Rye House, Hoddesdon on Sunday 25th November.

With an almost unbelievable line-up of motorsport stars taking part, the
day promises:

International motorsport stars racing in equal machinery...

Celebrity (Music, Sport & TV) and motorsport icons (F1 and more) racing...

An explosive Supercars / Rally cars / Motorbikes demo...

The best junior European drivers racing...

And a whole lot more!

In addition to Christian, both Gavin Wills and John Miller will also be racing in the Motorsport Icons / Celebrity race! (No, I don't know either which category John Miller fits in!)

In a year already bulging with trophies, will this be a chance to end the year on a competitive high? Whatever happens, it promises to be a fantastic day out, and all for a very good cause...

Check out the website at:

www.theraceagainstcancer.co.uk

Ebbesvik and West-Tec win the Spanish F3 Cup title in Barcelona!

In a nail-biting finish to our first Spanish Formula 3 season, Team West-Tec driver, Norwegian Christian Ebbesvik, won the Spanish Formula 3 Class B Championship in Barcelona on 11th November 2007.

With seven wins and six second places from 14 race starts (of the 16 round Championship) Christian proved his worth, although this was the closest finish in the Championship’s seven year history. Ebbesvik's main rival, the fast and consistent Peruvian, Juan Manuel Polar, only lost out on count back after dropped scores were taken into consideration.

Race One was held over two parts following a mammoth shunt which thankfully saw Nil Montserrat and Arturo Llobel escape serious injury. The incident saw Christian lose track position as a result and he was never able to get back on terms, being forced to follow Polar home. This meant that Christian had to win Race Two to have any chance of being Champion, with Juan needing to be third or lower.

After a strong race 2 start, running in the lower reaches of the top ten overall, Polar held the lead, defending strongly as Christian repeatedly tried to overtake. Their battle allowed Xavi Barrio to close up and he eventually made an impressive double overtaking move to get to the front. Desperately trying to retaliate, Polar spun, rejoining in fifth place in class. Meanwhile Ebbesvik tracked down Barrio and passed to pull out a clear lead that he easily held until the end..... But the final laps were nerve-wracking as Polar relentlessly chased down those in front of him but he was only able to pass one car and crossed the line fourth, meaning he finished the year just two net points behind Christian although a question mark over third placed Sammy Checa meant that, even if the Catolan Racing driver was confirmed as disqualified, Christian would still be champion.

Sean Petterson, meanwhile, also impressed the team again with a very commendable performance in his Freestyle Investments-backed A Class car. Sean, with circuit expert Dani Clos on hand for coaching, learned the circuit well and was consistently quicker than Christian. Unfortunately, a spin in the melee of the first lap of race one, put him right at the back for Sundays restart.

Despite two cracking drives, including a long battle with series frontrunner Manuel Cerqueda, Sean was never able to make up for the lost time although he raced up from 22nd to finish ninth in the second race to again get into the points. In fact his race pace was quicker than the eventual fourth place driver, Toni Rubiejo, an omen for next season perhaps?

Christian Ebbesvik: “Fantastic! Everything was fantastic. I really need to thank everybody at Team West-Tec for all the work they have done this year– these guys really are amazing. Over the year we were unlucky to suffer from a couple of unforeseeable issues, but the whole of the crew just kept on believing and working towards our common goal. Of course, I must also thank my primary sponsors without whom what we achieved today would never have been possible: Autosalg, Svendsen Eiendom and Valvoline. I’m really looking forward to coming back next year, in the A Class, and challenging to win all over again!”

Sean Petterson: “I was well positioned, I think, but I spun on the first lap and was always playing catch up after that – although that did make the races exciting! We showed we had the pace though and it was really enjoyable being part of the team, and celebrating with them for Christian’s championship win.”

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: “Christian has been stunning all year and deserved to win, although Juan Polar and Novo Team were really good opponents and we had to find everything we had to defeat them – we have plenty of respect for them for the great battle that has raged all season.”

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: “Obviously, we are over the moon for Christian – and Sean showed us he is very quick too. In fact, Sean is a very technically-able driver and to come back into the points again was a formidable comeback. The battle with Cerqueda and his fastest laps showed that being fourth, or maybe even on the podium, was quite possible if the cards had fallen a little kinder for him. Nonetheless, he has come in at the end of the year with little testing and has finished in the points at each circuit he has been to, so the team is really delighted with him - in fact we are very comfortable with the talent we have in our drivers thinking ahead to next year.”

Gavin Wills: “Our A Class plans for 2008 are now looking very good, and we are also talking to some exciting candidates to defend our Class B Cup Championship title in Christian’s car. We will be testing in the UK later in November, before coming back to Spain for more testing in December.”

Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone

All 4 Team West-Tec drivers (Jay Bridger, Dave Connor, Adam Quartermaine and Gavin Wills) produced some fantastic driving and great lap times over the weekend, but for Dave, Adam and Gavin, lady luck deserted, just when they needed her most.

Jay Bridger drove well all weekend and although unfamiliar with the car, improved every time he went out. One off track excursion early in testing did not knock his confidence in anyway and he soon powered his way through his heat (finishing 2nd behind Peter Dempsey) and semi-final into the final. Sadly the final came too early in his FF1600 learning curve, but he did not disgrace himself, finishing in a battleing and more than respectable 10th. The whole event will have given him valuable experience as he moves into UK Formula 3 in 2008.

Dave Connor produced one of his best ever drives, when in heat 6 he came a close 3rd to Le Mans series driver and ex ASCAR champion Michael Vergers. The semi-final did not quite go to plan, but Dave still managed to make the main event. Annoyingly for him he became the meat in a Formula Ford sandwich and crashed out of the final early on.

Adam Quartermaine drew most of the short straws over the weekend with his heat having one of the more competetive line ups. However, he was undetered, finishing in P8 and in the process making his way through to the Semi-Final. Adam started the race in good spirits, knowing that he had to finish 18th or better. Unfortunately, as he was fighting his way through the field (and had just made P18) his throttle jammed open and he ended up in the gravel and out of the event.

Gavin Wills for the 4th WHT in a row managed to set the fastest lap time in Qualifying and from the off looked like he would dominate his heat. But a determined Josh Fisher and a red flagged race conspired, keeping Wills back in P2. His sem-final went much better when he came from 4th on the grid to take the win over promising youngster James Nash. The final looked as though it would go to plan for Gavin as he quickly made his way to the front, but the race was stopped and Wills's troubles began. His car almost failed to start on the grid for the green flag lap, but once running he thought everything woud be OK. By the time they cars made it back for the re-start proper, Wills had lost his dash information, but was still convinced that a good result was on the cards. Dempsey pushed hard from the off and managed to squeeze past going from 4th to 1st in the process. The following cars clung to the rear end of Dempseys RAY and it looked as though we were in for a fantastic 4 way battle for the lead.That was until Gavin driffted wide and spun, the pursuing pack taking evasive action, allowing Dempsey to get away. Wills rejoined, but his what was by now an obvious electrical problem, meant that no matter how hard he tried he could not make up many places, eventually finishing outside the top ten.

West-Tec boys on fire in Jerez

Team West-Tec F3 enjoyed spectacular success in balmy Jerez last weekend for rounds 13 and 14 of the Spanish F3 Championships.

Racing in front of a mammoth crowd, Spanish F3 Cup pacesetter, Christian Ebbesvik, was fastest in class in every single session and completely dominated the weekend taking the maximum 20 points while his class archrival, Juan Polar, could only scrape four points from the two races.

Christian took his first victory of the weekend in race one and in race two, Ebbesvik's pace was so hot, he was even in the hunt for an incredible outright podium position although he eased off towards the end, thinking of the Cup Class championship - he eventually recorded a seventh place overall finish, the best position seen in the series by the older Dallara for quite some time.

Sean Petterson, meanwhile, also impressed with a very competent and polished display in West-Tec's Dallara F306, as the team stepped up to race in Class A for the first time. Inevitable new car niggles (including a cockpit fire!) restricted Sean to just 14 practice laps, which was far from ideal as he had never seen the Jerez track before the weekend.

Nonetheless, the rapid South African continually improved his times and recorded a fine tenth place finish in race one. A fantastic result considering his involvement, as an innocent victim, in a big first corner fracas. Without a rear wing Sean cruised round to the pits where West-Tec's old Stock Car pit training kicked in. The crew removed all the broken debris and then, with super-quick thinking, sent him back out without a rear wing to catch the pack under the safety car, much to the amazement and bemusment of the other teams. At the end of the next lap Sean re-pitted to have a new rear wing fitted and then rejoined, once again catching the pack before the race restarted. This kept Sean on the lead lap and allowed him to earn a good finishing position, whereas two other cars in the same incident and similarly damaged went a lap down while undergoing complete repairs and were thus out of contention for good results.

For race two, Sean kept on improving as he continued to learn the track, maintaining a competitive pace as he finished ninth, to get into both the points and the prize money, finishing just one place behind Marco Barba, the erstwhile championship leader.

Christian Ebbesvik: "What a mega weekend! Everything was perfect from the start of practice. The car was incredibly fast and I could have gone quicker if I had to. Having caught up 16 points this weekend, we are now breathing down Polar's neck as we head to the final races in Barcelona, which is just the sort of track I like. Bring it on!"

Sean Petterson: "It was hard to learn the track although we always knew we were likely to be up against it here. The pit crew were absolutely awesome in what they did and that gave me both a good finish and a good starting position for Sunday. It is really satisfying to get into the points and the prize money in our first outing with the car!"

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: "Christian was at the top of his game all weekend and deserved everything he achieved. We now go to Barcelona for the final weekend of the season and while Juan remains just ahead of Christian in the hunt for the title, we are back in the game and will be giving it our all."

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: "Sean did a really good job and the crew were delighted with the two top-ten finishes from him. It was hard for him to learn the track but he kept on working and he kept on improving. I'm sure when we come here again next year, he should be well into the top six - in fact I'm really looking forward to it. Also, after just two weekends in the series, he has become the first driver this year to score points in both Class A and Class B cars which is a nice record in itself."

The Spanish F3 Championships reach their final rounds on the weekend on 10th and 11th September at Barcelona Montmelo the home of the Spanish GP.

Quartermaine and Connor produce Festival Personal Best

Team West-Tec Formula Ford 1600 drivers Adam Quartermaine and Dave Connor produced excellent drives in the 1600 Kent engined final of the 2007 Formula Ford Festival.

Connor had been driving well all year and had already picked up a couple of Podiums during the regular season. He knew the competition would be much stiffer at the Festival, but was confident of putting up a good performance, especially as the Brands Hatch circuit (as well as being Dave’s local) is also one of his favourites.

Quartermaine had only joined the team at the beginning of the 2007 season and after a slow start due to a few mechanical gremlins and an unfamiliar car, had begun to show some form and consistency over the latter stages of the season.

Thursday’s testing proved to be a good indicator for both drivers, with Dave being the quicker of the two.  Adam was far from disappointed though, after he bettered his previous Brands Hatch best by almost half a second.

Qualifying for their 1st race (which doubled up as the 2nd Semi Final) started the trend for the weekend with Dave Connor taking 6th place with a 51.075 and Adam Quartermaine in 7th with another PB of 51.129.

The race for each of them proved fairly uneventful, although both lost a place, Dave crossing the line in 7th and Adam in 8th. They both thought that they could have done better, but ultimately mission was accomplished as they had both made it to the Final.

The grid for the final was the only time that the pair of them were separated by another car all weekend, but they still managed to sit line astern on the grid with Dave in 14th and Adam in 16th. Both drivers made good starts with Adam stealing the plaudits, by moving into 13th place from the “get go”. 

All the major action was at the front with Peter Dempsey and Wayne Boyd pushing hardest and a number of the following pack showing battle scars. Inevitably, with such a prestigious prize on offer, someone would overstep the mark and with only a handful of laps to go the 2 front runners clashed. Peter Dempsy tried to stick his car in deeper than Boyd's at the Druids hairpin, but only succeeded in running into the rear wheel of Boyd. Both cars then spun out into the gravel trap.

The incident brought out the red flag and as more than half of the race had been completed a result was declared, Dave moving into 7th place and Adam 8th.  Keith Dempsey (Peter’s Brother) was declared winner with Fellow Irish drivers Robert Barrable and Patrick McKenna in 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Both Dave Connor and Adam Quartermaine now move on to the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone, they will be joined by Jay Bridger and Gavin Wills.

Christian Makes History in Spain

Christian Ebbesvik made history as the first Norwegian to ever drive a GP2 car. He took the opportunity at Jerez, in Spain, on 4th October 2007 after earning his chance through his excellent Spanish Formula 3 performances with Team West-Tec. The GP2 racing machine belonged to the top Spanish outfit, Racing Engineering with whom Team West-Tec have a long-term relationship.

Although a recurring problem with the fly-by-wire throttle system limited both Christian's track-time and ultimate pace, his data showed that his corner speeds were generally on a par with the team's lead driver, and established GP2 superstar, Javi Villa.

On a day peppered with crashes and spins, Christian's performance was faultless and, even with his problems, he was far from the slowest car on the track at any time.

Christian Ebbesvik: "The GP2 is insanely fast in a straight line compared to an F3 car! I'm sure if I'd had more confidence in the throttle, or more laps, I would have been comfortably quicker. Knowing the circuit already from F3 was a big help though. The GP2 cars are very impressive, as is the whole Racing Engineering set up. The guys all worked very hard and the chance to work with their engineers, led by John (Gentry) was great. GP2 is definitely where I want to be in the future and I'm pleased with the start I made today."

Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, Racing Engineering Team Principal: "Christian did a really good job. He was able to handle the power well and never put a foot wrong on a day when there were a lot of red flags caused by cars going off track. Perhaps he needs more mileage, but looking at the data and speaking to the engineers, it's clear he has the ability to do well at this level. We would certainly like him to drive for us again, and so we'll be talking about that.
We see Team West-Tec as bringing young talent to our attention from Formula 3, and seeing how well Christian did really gives me confidence for the future."

John Miller, Team West-Tec Joint Team Principal: "It was a privilege to be able to watch Christian take his first steps in GP2. He did a good job - just as we knew he would! At the beginning of 2007, we promised we would get him into the GP2 car if he did a good job in F3 and it was a real pleasure to be able to fulfil that promise. We have a really good relationship with Racing Engineering and I'd like to thank everybody there, from Alfonso down, for all their help and support. Hopefully all of our 2008 drivers should have the chance to test with them next year which will be really exciting."

Team West-Tec Suffer Mixed Fortunes In Valencia

Team West-Tec's drivers enjoyed mixed fortunes at Valencia as the Spanish Formula 3 Championship's bumper grids provided the prime support at the GP2 finale.

Championship contender Christian Ebbesvik was unfortunate to suffer a big off in practice, spinning and then almost rolling after another car went off at the chicane and new signing Sean Petterson got to grips with the Dallara chassis and the 4km Valencia circuit.

For Saturday's race, it started to rain as the cars sat on the grid. Last minute decisions were made with some drivers opting for slicks, while others chose wets. Choosing slicks for both of our drivers turned out to be a mistake, as the wet-shod cars were around seven seconds a lap quicker! Nonetheless, established rainmeister Ebbesvik quickly got to work and lead the Cup Class for much of the race befor eventually being passed by the wet-shod Sammy Checa - but holding on to finish in second after a fantastic display of car control.

Sean also impressed on his slicks, driving smoothly to finish in a classy fourth place, the two West-Tec cars sandwiching championship leader Juan Polar who finished third.

For race two, on Sunday, drama struck as the cars left the dummy grid on the parade lap. Ebbesvik was struggling with a jammed clutch, in fact several other cars were struck down at the same time. This caused something of a farce as the cars crawled, or were pushed, into the pit lane as the rest of the grid was sent around for a second parade lap. Sadly, and despite great efforts, Christian's problem could not be rectified before the start. Further investigation identified a rogue stone jammed in the clutch mechanism, a legacy of an excursion or 2 into the Valencia gravel traps during Saturdays wet race.

Sean’s car was running well but, being used to the different gearboxes in the British F3 cars he has been racing so far this year, he missed several gears which resulted in lost places. He made several superb overtaking moves, only to fall back again! Nonetheless, he brought the car home for his second fourth place of the weekend, a promising start considering his lack of testing.

With Polar taking the win, after tussling with the impressive Xavi Barrio, Christian is now struggling in the Championship chase, although both he and the team are far from giving up with four races left at Jerez and Barcelona.

Christian Ebbesvik: "Race one was manic, I was sliding everywhere and went off several times. Holding off the wet-tyred cars was not easy and I was glad to see the flag! Race two was a big disappointment, which I guess is just a twist of fate. We have Jerez next, where we have been very fast before, so we are certainly not throwing in the towel just yet."

Sean Petterson: "I struggled a little with the gears but enjoyed my first taste of both the Spanish F3 Championship and working with Team West-Tec. In race two my car was really awesome and I had a great time. I'm sure I could have been on the podium but two fourths is not a bad return for the weekend."

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: "For sure we had a tough weekend. Both drivers did amazingly well on Saturday when it would have been so easy to crash out. Christian was stunning in holding cars off cars on wet tyres and got what he deserved with a solid second place. Sean also did a good job which bodes well for the future."

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: "Race two was a real heartbreaker for Christian as he had to watch Polar take a comfortable win, but Sean kept the team flag flying with an exciting drive to finish fourth again, despite struggling with gear issues. We are at Jerez this week, with Christian testing in GP2 for Racing Engineering which should be great to see."

Spanish F3 Expansion, More GP2 Testing and Possible British Racing, All For 2008.

Having concentrated on establishing ourselves in Spanish Formula 3 over the 2007 season, the team will expand and compete in both Class A and B for 2008 as well as considering racing in a leading British Championship

Team West-Tec's relationship with GP2 powerhouse Racing Engineering is also set to continue with team drivers automatically being lined up for GP2 tests with the well supported Spanish team.

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: “We always said we wanted to concentrate on Spanish F3 Class B in 2007 which is what we have done to great effect. We also always said that we wanted to progress in 2008 and so Class A will be a natural step. With the series switching to biofuel-powered Fiat engines next year, and hopefully with the Champion’s F1 test prize reintroduced, there will never be a better time to move up.”

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: “We have enjoyed racing in Spanish F3 this year. It offers good value and races at top-class venues in front of big crowds. The level of competition is also very good. Having effectively purchased a whole team from Racing Engineering, it also makes good sense to build on the foundations we have laid in 2007.I am sure that we will be able to challenge outright next year, as well as defending our achievements in the Class B Cup class.”

Miller: “We have also been approached to think about running a team in Britain, perhaps in Formula 3 or Formula Renault although it is early days on that project. We won’t be doing it “to make the numbers up” as we only race to win. We will also only do it if it is right for the team and we have the right drivers, but it is definitely under firm consideration.

The link with Racing Engineering is also very powerful for us. This year Christian Ebbesvik has impressed with us direct from UK Formula Ford and they have been watching that closely - so now he is going to be testing for them in GP2 with a view to a future race deal. We have also been working hard to develop good links in Renault World Series and it is possible that our 2008 drivers will be getting test drives there as well.”

Jay Bridger joins Team West-Tec superteam for Walter Hayes Trophy.

UK Formula Ford racewinner and frontrunner, Jay Bridger, has concluded a deal to join Team West-Tec and race in this year's Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

Jay (20) will be driving one of the team's fleet of Van Diemens and will certainly taking it seriously.

Jay Bridger: "Last year I entered the Walter Hayes Trophy but suffered all sorts of reliability problems - so this year we decided to come back with the best team! With upwards of 180 cars expected to enter, it's great fun just to take part although I'll be aiming to finish as high up as possible."

Gavin Wills: "We are delighted Jay is joining us, as he will surely be one of the favourites for the win. In fact I'll probably have to drive extra fast to beat him!"

John Miller, Team Director: "Jay recently enjoyed his debut F3 test with us and we enjoyed working with him. He then went on to win his first UK Formula Ford race at Brands Hatch - so he should be in a position to impress at Silverstone. The Walter Hayes Trophy is a great event and has really taken over the mantle of the eminent FF1600 race of the year in recent times. As a team we enjoy supporting it and, as well as Jay and Gavin, we will also have our regulars Dave Connor and Adam Quartermaine in action as well as, possibly, one more driver yet to be announced. All our drivers have the ability to do well overall, so it should be quite a spectacle."

South African Prospect Joins West-Tec For F3

Sean Petterson was born in Johannesburg on 21st July 1985 and made his racing debut in South African Formula Ford in 2002.

Coming to Europe in late 2005, Sean made an instant impact, finishing in an excellent tenth position in the world famous Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.

For 2006, Sean was retained by the Jamun Formula Ford squad and took one victory on his way to seventh place in the highly competitive British Championship.

Sean then graduated to Formula 3 for 2007, racing in the prestigious British Formula 3 Championship, initially in Class B and then, latterly, in Class A.

Unfortunately, despite showing good pace and getting some good results, including an excellent second place at Oulton Park, Sean found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, driving an underdeveloped chassis and powered by an unfashionable engine.

Therefore, attracted by the competitive racing in Spanish Formula 3, as well as the top-quality venues and big crowds, Sean opted to join Team West-Tec for the remainder of the 2007 season.

Large Crowd Enjoy POWERnights Finale.

Over 3,500 people attended the final POWERnights event of 2007 at Silverstone on Thursday 30 August.  Spectators were entertained by eight action packed races and on track displays of stunt driver Terry Grant. They then were invited to join in the festivities at the Party in the Paddock, watching the prize giving, grabbing a bite to eat at the BBQ and listening to some music.  Even the sunshine arrived in good time to brighten up the final Thursday evening of Summer Motorsport.

Team West-Tec's Gavin Wills became the most successful POWERnights race driver, taking two wins in the Invitation Formula Ford races to add to the two victories he scored on the first POWERnights event at Silverstone on 2 August.  Malcolm Edeson from Nottingham took the first win for the Toyota MR2 in the ‘Battle of the Japanese Roadsters’ and fittingly it was the Mazda MX5 of Brett Walker who took the chequered flag in the second encounter at the end of the evening.

Paul White was a double race winner in the Avis Trophy for Invitation Classic Saloons & Road Sports races in his awesome MGB GT V8, finishing well ahead of Ashbourne’s Mike Wrigley in his Escort MKI in both encounters.   The honours were shared between Swedish driver Ake Boinebusch and Bedford’s Steve Scott in the IN ’n’ OUT Trophy for Invitation Saloons & Sports Cars.

“We have had an extremely successful evening, with a good size crowd of just over 3,500, the largest crowd size so far, coming along to enjoy the final POWERnights event,” said POWERnights Series Director Roger Etcell.  “The feedback we have been receiving from spectators, competitors and marshal’s at all three events has been extremely positive and we now have a proven product with which to move forward into 2008.  We aim to announce the dates of next years POWERnights events before Christmas so everyone can plan their 2008 calendars early.  We are looking to run POWERnights events from May through to mid August and we have already been in discussions with the circuits and race series organisers to find suitable dates next season. 

“I’d like to thank all of the volunteer marshal’s, medical staff and the race officials from the BRSCC, without whom this new initiative wouldn’t have been possible,” Roger Etcell continued. “I’d also like to thank the sponsors of POWERnights - Scalextric, Keystone Computer Group, IN ‘n’ OUT, Perrys, Avis, Sunwin Mazda, Northants 96, Ram FM, Classic Gold, Motors TV and Motorsport News - for their support this season.”

Motors TV (Sky Channel 413) is broadcasting the final POWERnights 60-minutes highlights programme on Sunday 17 September, with three further repeats the following week.  In total POWERnights has received over 14-hours of television coverage in its inaugural season and drivers have received £12,000 in prize money.  With plenty of track time and other incentives, POWERnights is one of the most cost effective forms of motor racing in the UK. 

www.powernights.com

Wills adds to his FF1600 tally

Once again, Team West-Tec have notched up another race championship. Team boss Gavin Wills, took his 8th victory in eight FF1600 Midlands-South Championship races, to clinch the title with 2 rounds still to go.

 

Wills knew before the start of race 1 of the Snetterton double header that he could take the championship, as long as he finished ahead of Championship rival David Grady and so, was determined to push hard in qualifying to give himself the best chance possible.

 

The 15 minute qualifying session initially saw Grady at the top of the timing screen, before Wills found enough space on track to put in a quick lap and move into the top slot, where he would stay until the session ended.

 

However, Gavin did his utmost to make things difficult for himself and his mechanics, when pushing for an even quicker time he slid of the track at the final chicane. The resulting collision with the Armco left his Link Integrated-backed Van Diemen with a wrecked nose cone and severely damaged left front wishbones.

 

The No. 88 car was quickly rebuilt in time for the start of race 1,from where Wills lead from lights to checkered flag, clinching the title in the process. The win was not as easy as it appeared, as Grady harried the Team West-Tec Principle throughout the race, eventually finishing a car length back.

 

Race 2 was a similar affair, with both Wills and Grady breaking away at the front. This time Wills looked more comfortable as he slowly managed to put 6 car lengths between himself and the young Grady behind. However, with only 2 laps left to run, Wills and Grady both almost tripped over a pair of back markers (one of them being a teammate of Wills!). Grady had the better run through, which allowed him to close right up on the Gearbox of Wills.

 

As they exited the final Chicane onto the Start finish straight of the last lap, Grady attempted to use the slipstream of Wills to "sling shot " by and pip the Weldon driver to the line. Sadly for him, his move came to late and Wills held on to take his 2nd win of the day by only 0.09 seconds.    

This is a fantastic third Midlands Championship win for Gavin and adds to his four Castle Combe Championships, one Star of Mallory Championship, two Formula Ford Festival wins and also a win in the Walter Hayes Trophy!

With the Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy again on the team's agenda this year - more silverware could yet be added to the collection before the season is out.

Team West-Tec's Ebbesvik to test GP2 Car for Racing Engineering

After impressing with Team West-Tec in the Spanish F3 Cup this season, Christian Ebbesvik has been signed up to test for Racing Engineering's GP2 team this winter, starting at Jerez on 3rd October.

Following two formative years in British Formula Ford, four class victories in the first eight races this year with Team West-Tec in Spanish F3 have brought the Norwegian recognition within the paddock and has impressed Racing Engineering team boss Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon.

With Racing Engineering being a well-backed winning team in GP2, opportunities with the outfit are highly sought after - with 30 drivers recently contacting the team following Ernesto Viso's injury at Magny Cours!

The chance to test with them and impress the team is a big chance for Ebbesvik, who hails from a country where rallying has traditionally been more popular and which has never yet had a Formula 1 driver, but recently the Norwegian media has started to follow his exploits.

Before starting to test, Christian will be visiting the team at a European GP meeting and has also been invited to use the team's fabulous training facilities in Spain.

Christian Ebbesvik: “My target is to become the first Norwegian to race in Formula 1, and at Jerez I think I will become the first Norwegian to drive in GP2. I know the track from Formula 3 so hopefully I'll go well and we can then talk about graduating to a race drive. We have been receiving good publicity in Norway with Formula 3, and testing GP2 should hopefully generate even more interest.”

John Miller, Team West-Tec: “Christian has shown himself to have a lot of talent this year which was noted by Racing Engineering - whom we have a great relationship with. Hopefully we can see him race in GP2, although whether in 2008 or 2009 remains to be seen. If not in 2008, we'll be delighted to see him lead from the front of our attack on Class A of the Spanish F3 Championship!”

Gavin Wills , Team West-Tec: “Our Spanish programme has always been about developing and promoting drivers. I am really looking forward to seeing Christian drive the GP2 car and I'm sure he's going to give a good account of himself. The opportunity he has earned is tremendous and validates our whole decision to work with Racing Engineering in Spanish F3.”

Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, Racing Engineering: “"We have been watching Christian all year. He has been impressive and we are looking forward to testing him. Hopefully we will also be able to find opportunities to test other Team West-Tec drivers in the future too."

Persistence Pays Off for West-Tec in Magny Cours

Christian Ebbesvik kept working hard until the last lap of the 2nd race at Magny Cours to stay firmly in the hunt for the Spanish F3 Cup title at the French Grand Prix venue. Conditions undoubtedly favoured those with prior experience of the circuit, which Ebbesvik did not have, this left Christian playing catch up with little testing opportunity.

Despite this he came on strongly in qualifying, to start race 1 from alongside series leader Juan Polar having got within 0.2s of the experienced and fast Peruvian driver.

Unfortunately for Race One it all went wrong. Christian made a poor start and was running fourth in class. He was just starting to make progress when a slower A Class car made an over-optimistic passing attempt at the Chateau D'Eau corner. Christian Ebbesvik commented 'There was no way he was going to be able to pass. His left front wheel hit my right rear hard and knocked my car up into the air and spun me round.'

With the Svendsen Eiendom / Valvoline / Autosalg Dallara firmly beached in the gravel the race was over for the rapid Norwegian, who could do nothing but stand and watch Polar roar to an easy win to extend his Championship lead.

Forced to start Race Two from the rear part of the grid, with the other Race One non-finishers, Christian made a steady start to Sunday's race before picking off cars one-by-one. Working his way through the field in tandem with Adri Campos Jr, Christian was soon secure in a class podium position.

The final lap saw an exciting three-way battle for the class lead between Christian, Polar and young-Spaniard Xavi Barrio. Still battling at the final corner, Barrio pipped Christian to take his maiden win in his Cetea Sport machine, with Polar trailing in third position having started the lap at the head of the trio.

Christian Ebbesvik: 'We could have won that one but it didn't quite work out. We've put ourselves right back in the hunt though!'

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: 'Without the crash on Saturday with the A Class car we could have gone away in the Championship lead, although we made up good ground on Sunday.'

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: 'Christian drove well in Race Two, from a lowly starting position. Perhaps he would have won if he hadn't had to battle with Class A cars, but second place, ahead of Juan, was a great result nonetheless.'

With the Spanish F3 Championships now heading into their mid-summer break Christian remains second in the Cup class, albeit 14 points behind Polar. With six races left at Valencia (supporting GP2), Monteblanco and at the Barcelona home of the Spanish Grand Prix it's still all to play for in the hunt for the title, especially as dropped scores start to become ever more important.

Christian is Hot in Albacete.

Christian Ebbesvik took win number four for Team West-Tec in the Spanish F3 Cup season at a scorching Albacete last weekend to keep the pressure on Championship leader Juan Manuel Polar.

In temperatures of up to 44 degrees, Christian had taken second place in qualifying, close behind Polar.

Race one saw Christian suffer some clutch slip off the line at the start and then run as low as fifth in class before recovering well in the later laps to take a good second place podium finish.

For race two, on Sunday, Christian made a lightning start and passed Polar around the outside of the hairpin on lap one to take a lead he would never relinquish. On a track which favours the Class A cars like no other on the calendar, Christian was able to latch on to a group of four of the newer cars. The race was far from over though, with Polar breathing down Christian's neck for the whole 16 laps, never quite managing to get quite close enough to overtake. After soaking up this pressure for lap after lap, Christian eventually took the chequer to win the class.

The weekend results restore the status quo with Juan still leading the Championship by six points, although once the increasingly vital dropped scores are taken into account the two protagonists are dead level.

Christian Ebbesvik "That was hard and I had to be on top form. Juan pressured me for 16 whole laps and I couldn't afford a single error. The boys did a good job with the car after Saturday."

John Miller, Team West-Tec "Christan drove as well as ever all weekend and got the good result he deserved after working hard. Being from Norway he's used to the cold so racing in 44 degrees must have been hard!"

The Spanish F3 Championship resumes at the French Grand Prix venue of Magny Cours on 14th/15th July.

Le Mans Breakdown!

Gavin's Le Mans experience was short lived when Team ASM's Lola was withdrawn just before the half way point.

All had been going to plan, with the car quickly moving into the lead of LMP2 by the 13th lap and shortly after taking 8th place overall, not bad from a grid starting position of 17th.

Sadly, Team ASM's momentum could not be sustained.The right rear wheel vibrated loose and came away from the car before driver, Warren Hughes, could make it back to the pits. Warren eventually managed to limp the car round and the crew replaced the damaged right rearcorner of the car, only for the same thing to happen again! The problem was eventually traced to a faulty part, which was replaced, solving the problem.

However, just before 2 in the morning the car suffered an off track excursion and was forced to pit with extensive damage. The team then took the reluctant decision to withdraw.

West-Tec at Le Mans

West-Tec's main man, Gavin Wills, has secured himself a bit of a "Bus drivers Holiday" when he takes part in the Le Mans 24 hour with the ASM team from Portugal. He freely admits that he would love to be driving their LMP2 Lola, but considers his actual job of engineeer to be the next best thing.

Gavin began his association with Antonio Samoes and ASM in 2006 and has continued to work hard with them to produce some good results in their class of the Le Mans series.

The coming weekends event is sure to be hard work for all of ASM's drivers and crew, but the team is confident that they will be there at the end of the 24 hours and leave Le Mans with a good result.

West-Tec at the Double in Portugal

Team West-Tec enjoyed a weekend to remember at Estoril for rounds 5 and 6 of the 2007 Spanish Formula 3 Championship.

Despite never even having visited Portugal before, and certainly never having seen the Estoril GP circuit before, Christian Ebbesvik soon found his feet to be third fastest overall in the wet in the limited testing on Friday, and several seconds ahead of the next fastest Copa de Espana Class B car.

Saturday morning was damp, conditions that the Norwegian revelled in to qualify seventh overall, with Class B archrival Juan Manuel Polar languishing down in 18th. In fact, having crossed the line to be third at the chequer, four following cars went fractionally quicker on the drying track to demote Christian to that still ultra-impressive seventh.

During the morning the track dried and for Race 1 the circuit was fully dry. Christian made a great start to run 6th - a position he successfully held for 15 of the 16 laps of the race. On the final lap a gradually worsening long brake pedal, caused by a malfunctioning master cylinder caught him out and allowed Gustavo Yacaman and Nil Monserrat to pass. Still finishing eighth overall was a fantastic result, with Team West-Tec becoming the only Class B entrant to score points in the overall Class A Championship so far this year.

Race 2 on Sunday was a wet/dry affair that was started under the safety car with Christian starting on slicks, unlike most of the field - a decision that proved to be far sighted, and correct.

Driving in a safe tenth place Christian was lapping as fast as those at the very front on the rapidly drying track, almost pulling out a whole lap on the second placed Class B runner, Xavi Barrio. Easing off dramatically over the final lap Christian maintained another overall top ten finish, with Polar back in third.

With the Championship gap now down to six points, with Barrio back in third, battle is set to resume at Albacete in June.

Gavin Wills, Joint Team Principal: "With the top six reversed for the race 2 grid the brake problem sadly cost us an outright pole which could well have cost Christian an outright podium - although of course Class B is our top priority."

Christian Ebbesvik: "I was disappointed to not have a chance to challenge to finish on the podium outright but two Class B wins and closing the gap to Polar was everything we set out to do. Pole position, two fastest laps and two wins - you have to be pleased with that!"

Paul South, Team Engineer: "Considering he didn't know the track and had to learn it in the wet I think Christian did a really good job this weekend."

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: "Just being six points behind Juan Manuel now in the chase for the title, and having won three races in a row we are now really hot for more!"

Christian is the Comeback Kid at Jarama

Christian Ebbesvik endured and enjoyed a dramatic weekend for his and Team West-Tec's debut in Spanish Formula 3 at Jarama.

Having gone quickest in class in the two days of testing, even running in the top ten overall, qualifying on Saturday morning saw Christian qualify slightly lower than hoped for in 15th, but still over half a second clear of the experienced Peruvian, Juan Manuel Polar, who finished the session as second fastest qualifier in class.

Unbelievably, as Christian completed an out lap when the pitlane opened for Race 1, the input shaft snapped - an unheard of failure with the Spanish F3-spec engines. A stunned Christian was forced to sit out what would have been his Formula 3 debut race, a massive disappointment considering his stunning pre-season testing form - and the number of Norwegian journalists who had flown down to specifically cover his debut!

Sunday dawned wet but soon dried out with characteristic Spanish sunshine for the tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators thronging the public areas of the track.

Forced to start 24th and last, Christian made rapid progress over the early laps until he caught the Class A car of Carlos Cosido. Cosido's team mate, Polar, was leading the class just in front but Cosido was clearly riding shotgun, defending hard for lap after lap and using the superior traction of the Dallara F306 to just stay in front of the speedy Norwegian.

Ebbesvik eventually managed to get by, after ten laps of battling, however Polar was too far in front for Christian to catch - even though his fastest lap was over half a second quicker than the Peruvian's. In fact, Christian's fastest lap was good enough for 8th fastest overall, quicker than the lead Campos car of Nicolas Prost who finished inside the top six which showed just what might have been.

So second in class and 12 th overall after starting 24 th meant an impressive debut for both driver and team with nobody in any doubt who is likely to provide the biggest challenge to the vastly experienced Polar this year. With the championship now moving on to Jerez in early May before supporting the WTCC at Valencia later that month, there is ample time now for the team to prepare and concentrate on being even quicker next time.

Christian Ebbesvik: "To say Saturday was a disappointment would be an understatement but at least I knew that I did my job and the team did its job - so there was nothing we could do about it. Sunday was a whole new day and we just had to go out and start last and do what we could. I was held up for a long while but to finish second in class, having started last, will do - for now."

Paul South, Team Engineer: "In my five years in Spanish F3 I've never seen an input shaft breakage like that. It was gutting for both Christian and the team but he bounced back in style on Sunday."

Gavin Wills , Joint Team Principal: "Christian drove really well from Thursday through to Sunday and was always the quickest Class B Cup car. His race progress on Sunday was impressive and in setting the eighth quickest race lap overall, through traffic, shows that he has the pace to shine with our car."

John Miller, Joint Team Principal: "Christian handled the disappointment of Saturday very well and came back with a vengeance on Sunday. This now puts him behind Juan Manuel in the title chase but he's shown we have the pace to overcome the early deficit."

Jesus Pareja, GT Sport (Championship Organiser): "That Norwegian is fast!"

Record Breaker At Guadix

Following on from topping the outright Spanish F3 times at Valencia last week, in a test kindly shared by Britain's leading Superbike teams, Team West-Tec's Spanish F3 charge Christian Ebbesvik broke the outright lap record at Guadix on Saturday.

Never having seen the circuit before in its current configuration, and running in only a single lunch-time session with 28 degree heat, the Norwegian, in his Dallara, improved on the previous mark set only the day before.

The team was evaluating the circuit as a test-base for the year and were impressed by the facility. Joint Team Principal John Miller commented "Clive (Greenhalgh) and his team were very helpful and accommodating and the track is well suited to Formula 3 running with a good mixture of both fast and slow corners. The local area is very pleasant, with the snow-topped Sierra Nevada mountains an impressive backdrop".

Christian was equally pleased with the track saying "I have tested here before with a Formula Ford but, since then, the track layout has changed a little and has also been fully resurfaced. It's now much smoother than before and it is challenging to drive properly, as well being good for set-up work."

Clive Greenhalgh, circuit owner, said "We've spent almost half a million pounds recently on improving the facility, and making the track smoother and better flowing. I was keen to show that a professional Formula 3 team would find the venue worthwhile and rewarding to work on, which Team West-Tec have certainly proved for us."

With additional testing scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, the leading Superbike riders have vowed to try to recapture the record before West-Tec move on for two days testing at Albacete!

Ebbesvik On The Pace

Christian Ebbesvik impressed mightily on Team West-Tec's Spanish test tour in preparation for becoming the first British team to take part in the Spanish Formula 3 Championship.

Across six days of testing at Jerez , Jarama and Valencia , the Norwegian's Dallara was consistently the quickest Class B Cup car, running regularly in the top four or five on overall. Christian peaked on the second afternoon at Valencia he was fastest of all, being quicker than all the Class A cars.

Joint Team Principal Gavin Wills said "At Jerez, Christian and the team started to learn the characteristics of the Spanish Dunlop rubber, but we struggled to get the most out of new tyres although we were still fifth quickest overall on old tyres and quickest of all in the damp. It was a similar story in Jarama but by the time we got to the more technical Valencia circuit, Christian was capable of running right at the front and by the second afternoon was the fastest car of all on track. Christian drove fantastically well and by Valencia all of the Class A drivers were looking out for him on track to try to avoid being passed by a Class B car!"

Christian himself was equally delighted with his first experience of the Spanish scene, commenting "These F1-level tracks are all awesome to drive and the track-time is unbelievable with no problem completing 400km in a day. The car is great to drive and I know that last year Racing Engineering ran my car to finish second overall twice at Magny Cours, so clearly I'll be trying to beat that!"

Testing resumes next week at Guadix and Albacete , before the team returns to the UK for further testing and evaluation.

The team is still negotiating with several parties over the second drive and hope to confirm a deal soon.

Ebbesvik Quick on Spanish Test Debut

Christian Ebbesvik shone on his Team West-Tec debut during testing for the up and coming Spanish F3 season at Jerez on 14th and 15th February.

With the Spanish climate and regulations offering great potential for seat time Christian notched up over 500 km of running and was consistently amongst the very quickest cars overall on old tyres.

The rapid Norwegian dominated amongst the Class B Cup cars and finished the test almost a second faster than the next quickest driver in class, despite being his and the team’s first experience of the Spanish circuit.

Former Formula BMW UK racer Lars Viljoen drove the team's other Class B car on the second day of the test, purely as a shakedown, and is expected to race for the team in British Club F3.

The team now moves on to Jarama and Valencia next week with further running scheduled for Gaudix, Albacete and back in the UK before the season starts on 30th March.